Published in

Elsevier, Burns, 8(43), p. 1792-1801

DOI: 10.1016/j.burns.2017.05.007

Links

Tools

Export citation

Search in Google Scholar

Perceived fatigue following pediatric burns

This paper was not found in any repository, but could be made available legally by the author.
This paper was not found in any repository, but could be made available legally by the author.

Full text: Unavailable

Green circle
Preprint: archiving allowed
Orange circle
Postprint: archiving restricted
Red circle
Published version: archiving forbidden
Data provided by SHERPA/RoMEO

Abstract

Purpose Fatigue is a common consequence of numerous pediatric health conditions. In adult burn survivors, fatigue was found to be a major problem. The current cross-sectional study is aimed at determining the levels of perceived fatigue in pediatric burn survivors. Methods Perceived fatigue was assessed in 23 children and adolescents (15 boys and 8 girls, aged 6–18 years, with burns covering 10–46% of the total body surface area, 1–5 years post burn) using both child self- and parent proxy reports of the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory Multidimensional Fatigue Scale. Outcomes were compared with reference values of non-burned peers. Results At group level, pediatric burn survivors did not report significantly more symptoms of fatigue than their non-burned peers. Individual assessments showed, however, that four children experienced substantial symptoms of fatigue according to the child self-reports, compared to ten children according to the parent proxy reports. Furthermore, parents reported significantly more symptoms of fatigue than the children themselves. Age, gender, extent of burn, length of hospital stay, and number of surgeries could not predict the level of perceived fatigue post-burn. Conclusions Our results suggest that fatigue is prevalent in at least part of the pediatric burn population after 1–5 years. However, the fact that parents reported significantly more symptoms of fatigue then the children themselves, hampers evident conclusions. It is essential for clinicians and therapists to consider both perspectives when evaluating pediatric fatigue after burn and to determine who needs special attention, the pediatric burn patient or its parent.